Roles of Librarians in Preservation and Conservation of Information Resources in the Nigerian University Libraries

World Atlas Journal of Library and Information Science, Vol. 4, No. 2

Abstract

The study investigated roles of librarians in preservation and conservation of information resources in the Nigerian university libraries. The design adopted for the study was a survey design. The population for the study consisted of all librarians working in academic libraries which were expected to attend the 56th Nigerian Library Association Conference and Annual General meeting in Lagos. “LIBRARIANS PRESERVATIVE AND CONSERVATIVE ROLES OF INFORMATION RESOURCES QUESTIONNAIRE (LPCRIRQ)” was developed and used by the researcher to collect data for the study. The instrument was face and content, validated by experts in test and measurement Department of University of Uyo with reliability coefficient of the instrument 0.92, which was derived from administration of the instrument to 30 respondents. Data obtained were analyzed using percentage analysis and charts. Findings of the study revealed that that preservation is as the totality of measures for maintaining the integrity of document and the information contained in them which includes all the managerial and financial considerations, storage and accommodation provisions, staffing level policies, techniques and methods involved in safeguarding documentary materials and that maintaining suitable environment for library information materials will prolong their life span and enhance long term accessibility. It was concluded that Academic librarians perform such preservative roles as maintenance of the integrity of document, managerial information, financial information, storage and accommodation provisions, staffing level policies. One of the recommendations was that records and information resources should be preserved and conserved digitally as it would enhance the usability of the records.